The present invention relates to improvements in enclosures for the operating regions of high-speed winding machines, for example take-up winders for threads formed of synthetic filament. In this context, the term "high-speed" refers generally to speeds in excess of 2000 m/min., and especially to speeds in excess of 4000 m/min.
Generally speaking, the machine of the present invention is for winding thread and has an operating region in which thread packages are formed and retained, if necessary, to await doffing thereof and has a predetermined doffing position in the operating region. The machine comprises at least one chuck, but preferably at least two chucks, arranged in the operating region and defining a longitudinal chuck axis.
In a further embodiment, the machine of the present invention is for winding thread and has an operating region in which thread packages are formed and retained, if necessary, to await doffing thereof. The machine comprises at least two chucks arranged in the operating region and defining respective longitudinal axes.
Enclosure of the main drives and ancillary operating parts of textile machines has of course been common practice since the inception of such machines. Enclosure of the "operating regions" of those machines, for example the regions in which thread is spun and/or wound, is much less common, but has been proposed for a number of different purposes. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,146,572, granted Sept. 1, 1964, it is proposed that raisable and lowerable shutters should be used to define an enclosed space containing the machine, which space can be controllably climatized in use. The shutters can be raised and/or lowered in order to provide access to the relevant operating regions when required. The arrangement has not found wide acceptance in the industry.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,087, granted Jan. 1, 1974, describes a twisting machine in which selected regions of the machine, especially the spindle assemblies, are selectively shielded to control noise emission. Raisable and lowerable shutters are again shown in FIGS. 10 to 16 of this patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,274,803, granted Sept. 27, 1966, describes a knitting machine in which the actual knitting region is enclosed to protect it from dust penetration, the enclosure including horizontally slidable transparent doors enabling selective access to the knitting region.
Surprisingly, the idea of enclosing the operating region of the machine has been extended only comparatively recently to the enclosure of the operating region of take-up winders, for example, for threads of synthetic filament. A recent proposal for such enclosure is, however, shown in the European Published Patent Application, published under the No. 0 141,936, on May 26, 1985, corresponding with U.S. Pat. No. 4,570,743, granted Feb. 18, 1986, filed in the name of Kurt Wetter and entitled "NOISE PROTECTION DEVICE FOR A WINDING UNIT". In that proposal, an access door extends over the whole of the front face of the winder, and is movable to the side thereof when access is required to the operating region, for example, for threading up or doffing of packages. The proposal is intended especially to limit noise emission from the winder.